Archives: August 2006
Tue Aug 29, 2006
Not a lot...
Not a lot happening at the moment, so here is a picture of a Mallard in flight near Cogglesford Mill yesterday...
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Terry
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Sun Aug 27, 2006
I had a really good look...
I had a really good look at the 5 Tuffties today and I am 99.9% certain that 'mum' is the one missing, so I am assuming that she thinks her work has been done and as soon as the ducklings can fly confidently they will probably go as well. I just hope we see some of them back next year.
The Dabchick father doing a wing flex today...
Terry
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Sat Aug 26, 2006
Still only 5...
I saw only 5 Tuffties again today, so perhaps the mum has flown ??? I think I now know how to definately tell mum from the youngsters so I will try and get a photo of all 5 tomorrow and see if it looks like mum is the one gone. Last year my last photo of the Tuffties was 21 August and then they all seemed to disappear together ???
There are still 4 little Dabchicks but I now find that 1 is often away from the others, I dont think it is because its being pushed aside by the others as it looks just as big ???
Dragonfly on the pond...
Terry
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Fri Aug 25, 2006
Only saw 5...
I have only seen 5 Tufted ducks today, its hard to tell now but I think it is 'mum' that was not around, has she left ???
The Dabchick chicks are still going strong and the Speckled Teal was around again on Wednesday and Thursday but I didnt see it today.
The Tufties earlier in the year...
Terry
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Tue Aug 22, 2006
Oi, point that camera somewhere else...
Oi, point that camera somewhere else...
Not a very good picture but it made me smile. Nothing much happening on the Slea at the moment, the 4 Dabchick chicks are still growing and the 5 Tufties are nearly as big as their mum now. Someone told me they saw a Red Necked Grebe with a youngster the other day but I didnt actually see it.
Terry
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Thu Aug 17, 2006
Not sure why...
I am not sure why I am posting this picture because I always feel so sorry for the fish, but its nature I suppose...
I couldnt work out how many adult Dabchicks were around today, 2 were fighting near Cogglesford but I am not sure if 1 was a parent of the babies or not ???
Terry
COMMENTS
Hi, Terry
Lunch time today I saw the 2 parent dabchicks with the 4 chicks near the mill, I also saw a single adult dabchick on the way back towards the Gym. I have only seen 5 Tufted ducks in total since yesterday, cannot work out if the mother has left them (all seemed the same size) or one of the chicks is missing.
Regards Graham
Hi Graham, thanks for the update. The female Tufty was there yesterday with all 5 ducklings, however to start with she was with only 2 ducklings and the other 3 were further upstream, they seem to wander about on their own a little now :)
Its interesting that you saw the Dabs near the Mill as I haven't known them that far downstream before, they are getting about a bit now :)
Terry
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Wed Aug 16, 2006
This is the first time I have seen them out....
This is the first time I have seen the baby Dabchicks out of the nest all together...
There is also between 3 and 5 kingfishers downstream from the Mill, I am sure there is at least 1 fledgling but they are so fast that I could only be absolutely sure of 3 altogether but I am fairly sure there is 3-5 altogether :)
Terry
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Tue Aug 15, 2006
I saw this on the Slea on Sunday...
I saw this on the Slea on Sunday, apparently its a Speckled Teal which comes from South America but I think this one has come from somewhere much closer ;) I havnt seen it since...
Terry
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Mon Aug 14, 2006
LOTS has been exploited...
LifeOnTheSlea has been exploited in some way and unsolicited email has been sent out from one of its directories. This could be because of a vulnerability in one of the scripts, until it is fully investigated parts of the site have been disabled which I am hoping will only affect emails being sent out, this is only done when someone registers/comments etc so I am hoping that the general running of the site will not be affected. I will update when I know more.
Terry
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Sat Aug 12, 2006
Water Weekend - I am horrified...
I was under the impression that as the Raft races were just a timed event where they could go down the middle of the river without touching the banks but I was horrified at watching the Water Weekend Raft races as this wasn't the case. Rafts had to turn around and then make their way past the others on the way back as they were all in the water at once just a minute or so behind each other. The Slea is just not wide enough for this sort of thing. How can a committee, knowing that we have baby ducks/moorhens/dabchicks on the Slea at this time, let an event proceed whereby the entrants crash into the bank, stick oars into the bank and reeds without any regard for the wildlife. The Raft races may have been in a part of the river that the known baby/duck/moorhens/dabchicks are not, but NOBODY knows if they are the only babies and nests as very often you see a new family on the Slea but dont know where they are/were nesting. Just before the races started I saw a Moorhen actually building a new nest so no one knows where all the nests and babies/eggs are. I hope there were no nests/babies on this stretch of the Slea but it is just down to complete LUCK if that is the case not planning, if it were because of good planning then the raft races would never take place or at least take place well out of the breeding season. To think that Water Weekend used to take place in *MAY* at the height of the breeding season is just incredible and unbelievable to me.
The wildlife was also getting 'compressed' as they tried to avoid the part of the River where the Rafts were. I saw a fight between 2 ducks because 1 was pressured by the races into getting too near the other ones babies. But even worse is that Moorhens at this time of year are still very territorial and many with babies, when 2 different families come together there really could be harm done as they will defend their family quite viciously. I am just gob smacked that this event is not only allowed but actually planned while knowing all the possible downsides to the wildlife. I really hope that nothing has been harmed but if it has the Water Weekend Committee will probably never know and 'ignorance is bliss'. If everything went well (but we will probably never know for certain) it was more by LUCK than judgment and sadly will only give the committee more confidence to do it again next year.
Here is a picture from yesterday of my nearest encounter with the Grey Wagtails at Cogglesford...
Terry
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Fri Aug 11, 2006
Good news...
I have just heard that the Water Weekend Committee have decided that the Raft races and canoes during Water Weekend (this Saturday and Sunday) will stop short of the Moorhens that are nesting in the middle of the Slea near to the Leisure Centre Bridge, so these Moorhens and the baby Dabchicks should now be safe this year. It just remains now to try and get the Committee to cancel at minimum the Raft races in the coming years, then the canoes.... 1 step at a time :)
Terry
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Tue Aug 08, 2006
I cant keep up with the Moorhens...
I cant keep up with the Moorhens - last Friday I told how the 2 baby Moorhens that had gone over the weir had got back home, but Saturday morning they were back down in the weir. This morning there was 1 in the weir and the other 1 was back with its parents, this afternoon both were back home with their parents. I am not sure how many times they have now been over the weir but each time they seem to get back, I cant wait for them to grow big enough to fly and then they can get up and down as much as they like.
The 5 Tuffted ducklings are still ok and I saw 3 baby Dabchicks today, they are very small and Water Weekend is only a few days away - I just hope they survive it.
One from the archives...
Terry
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Fri Aug 04, 2006
What a GREAT story this is...
I went down the Slea early today to try and see the 2 baby Moorhens that had gone over the weir a few days ago as I hadn't seen them for a couple of days and was getting a little worried about them.
When I got to the weir the 2 babies were there along with a couple of their 'teenager' siblings. I fed them a little and then saw the 2 teenagers fly up to the top of the weir, I didn't know they could fly - probably not far yet but enough to get them to the top. This worried me a little as I wondered if they would abandon the babies at some time so they have to fend for themselves.
After my walk I returned and saw the 2 babies with either Mum or Dad so I fed them a little again and then I felt so privileged to see what happened next...
Mum (or Dad) started to walk down the lock and the babies followed and I wondered if the parent was trying to lead the babies back to the top. I rushed to the end of the lock but could not see them so I rushed back to the Mill bridge and saw the parent leading the babies to the Mill so they must have come up the spit of land between the Mill and the Lock and then passed over the little Mill walk way bridge. The parent then was looking a little anxious as it seemed to be looking to take the babies over the Mill bridge where people and dogs walk. If a dog came past as they were going over it it could be dangerous. In the end the parent jumped into the Mill 'pond' and each baby in turn also jumped in but with a lot more reluctance. They then swam through the Mill bridge back to their normal living area, I just think that this was BRILLIANT and whats more I was privileged to see it happen :) :) :) :) :)
The Moorhen babies epic (to them) journey (apologies to anyone on dial up for large image)...
Terry
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I have decided to copy any interesting comment onto the front page so that it is easier for other people to see, here is the latest from Graham...
Hi Terry, just been down the river, there are now 3 hatched dabchicks and one egg left on the nest. I believe the distinct call the parents make is for a changeover of nest keeping duties, seen it happen a couple of times now. No sign of the other possible pair of Dabchicks up towards the Hub. Regards Graham
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Thanks Graham, I was down there this morning but didnt see any Dabchicks chicks (if that is the right expression) - I must look harder - LOL
Terry
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Thu Aug 03, 2006
It has always annoyed me...
It has always annoyed me that the software I use for this blog doesnt have an option to have comments on the front page instead of having to click on the 'comments' button for each post. So I am going to copy part of Graham's comment here as it is important...
Graham's comment...
Hi Terry, good news - went down the river today at 1430 and noticed one of the dabchicks has hatched - both parents there. Also saw single dabchick in the reeds in normal area up towards the mill.
Thanks for the news Graham, we both know there are at least 3 other eggs so lets hope they all hatch in the next day or so. After your comment I went down the Slea and got a first (very bad) picture or the little one...
I didnt see any of the Moorhens that we know went over the weir on my travels yesterday but I did at least see 2 of the 'teenagers' there today, they can look after themselves so I am a little worried about the 2 babies that should also be around down there, however they have evaded me before and I just hope that is what they have done yesterday and today ???
Terry
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Tue Aug 01, 2006
I went down this morning...
I went down this morning to see if the Moorhens that had gone over the weir were anywhere about, I saw the 3 teenagers and 2 babies in the lock at Cogglesford so they havnt made their way back, but they are surviving so as long as they keep out of the way of dogs (who are sometimes let into the water here) they should be ok. The teenagers were helping the babies to feed and without them I am sure the babies would not last long, I just hope the teenagers stay long enough for the babies to be able to feed for themselves. On the way back I also saw a mallard with 6 little ones also in the lock, I dont believe that these have gone over the weir and have probably only hatched in the last day or so, with mum with them they should also be ok (except for the dogs).
There was no sign of any thing hatched at the Dabchicks nest so perhaps I was 'seeing' things when I thought I saw a crack in one of the eggs, but we should know in the next day or so ?
There are still 5 Tufted ducklings and Mum is getting a lot braver now she realises that I have food for them and she will now come to 2-3 feet from the bank. The little ones are growing as came be seen here...
Terry
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